Plaintiffs poised to challenge Arizona's immigration law

by Alia Beard Rau - Jul. 20, 2010 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic

Arizona's new immigration law faces seven federal court challenges.

The U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit is the most high-profile, while the one filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and a handful of other civil-rights groups is by far the largest in terms of number of plaintiffs and defendants. Both lawsuits are scheduled for separate hearings Thursday before U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton on motions to dismiss the cases and others seeking preliminary injunctions to stop the law from going into effect July 29.

The ACLU lawsuit names officials from all of Arizona's 15 counties as defendants and has 24 plaintiffs.

Fourteen of the plaintiffs are organizations and include the Service Employees International Union and the Scottsdale-based Arizona South Asians for Safe Families, which serves victims of domestic violence.

Ten plaintiffs are individuals. They include Vicki Gaubeca, a resident of New Mexico who visits Arizona and is concerned that her license may not be enough to prove her citizenship because New Mexico does not require proof of legal status to get a license. And there's Jim Shee, a U.S.-born 70-year-old of Spanish and Chinese descent who said he already has been stopped twice by local law enforcement and asked to show his "papers."

Bolton on Thursday will hear the motions to dismiss and for a preliminary injunction in this case. She'll hear arguments from both sides. She will be looking for the plaintiffs to meet the criteria needed for a preliminary injunction, such as evidence of harm if the law goes into effect.

Arizona's immigration law, which goes into effect July 29, makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally. It states that an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally.

The plaintiffs allege that the law "encourages racial profiling, endangers public safety and betrays American values."

Many of the plaintiffs will be in court for Thursday's hearing but won't be asked to testify at this stage. Here are some of their stories.

FRIENDLY HOUSE

Friendly House is a non-profit organization in Phoenix that has served Arizona's immigrant community since 1920 by providing help such as employment assistance, home care for the disabled, food boxes, victim services, English classes and child care to about 40,000 families and children each year. Its clients include citizens, legal residents and illegal immigrants.

Interim CEO Terri Leon said Friendly House chose to become a plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit because it believes Senate Bill 1070 will result in its clients being deterred from seeking immigration relief because local law enforcement will stop and detain them to ask for their papers.

"The Hispanic community trusts us as an organization," Leon said. "And part of our role is to protect the rights of the community we serve."

She said she will attend Thursday's hearing to show support for the Hispanic community.

Leon said that clients are afraid and that SB 1070 dominates conversations.

"It is interfering with our ability to deliver services," she said, adding that that is another legal argument Friendly House made in its case. "Instead of asking us about benefits, people are asking us about 1070."

The number of food boxes being picked up has declined because people are afraid to come get them, she said. And the law also is impacting the organization's ability to provide legal and crisis services to crime victims and witnesses. There are special services available to victims and witnesses of crimes, but Leon said these individuals aren't receiving them because they are afraid to come forward or are declining services that law enforcement provides. This is out of fear of being questioned about their legal status under SB 1070, Leon added. The law allows for but does not require exceptions when dealing with victims and witnesses.

"People are not calling and getting the help they truly need to remain safe," she said. "There is a lot of fear."

LUZ SANTIAGO

Luz Santiago, 59, is a pastor at the Christian church Iglesia Pueblo de Dios in Mesa. She is Hispanic, as is most of her congregation. About 80 percent of her congregation is in the country illegally.

She is worried about how SB 1070 may impact her congregation.

"I have seen so much fear in the community. I see fear in the eyes of children of my congregation that their parents may one day go out somewhere and not come home," she said. "It makes me feel very depressed. The United States is supposed to represent freedom."

Santiago moved to Arizona from Chicago about 30 years ago. She said she has never seen something have such an impact on the immigrant community as this law has, even before it has gone into effect.

"To see empty stores, to see people not walking around like they used to, the empty apartment complexes, it reminds me of movies of Old West ghost towns," she said. "There is a mass exodus from Arizona."

Santiago also fears she could face criminal charges under the portion of the law that makes it a crime to harbor or transport an illegal immigrant while committing another criminal offense, such as driving more than 20 miles over the speed limit. This is the basis of her legal argument in the case and why she said she joined the lawsuit.

Santiago said she regularly drives members of her congregation to court, doctor appointments and the grocery store. She also runs a food bank.

"I'm there to serve the people. That's what my calling is," she said. "God put me in this position, and this law is infringing on my rights to do my work."

She gets emotional as she cites Bible passages about treating others with respect and the importance of following the law, as long as those laws aren't harmful to others.

"As a minister, who do I follow? Do I obey the laws of the land, or do I obey my higher calling?" she asked. "One should complement the other."

Santiago said both she and members of her congregation will be at Thursday's hearing.

"We need to show our support," she said.

JOSÉ VARGAS

José Vargas, 52, of Phoenix, is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. and a day laborer. He speaks Spanish fluently and does not speak much English.

He often solicits work on street corners and fears the impacts of SB 1070 both in terms of possible racial profiling as well as the portion of the law that makes it illegal to pick up or be picked up as a day laborer if it impedes the flow of traffic. This is the basis of his legal argument.

"I feel I will be detained by police, whether on the street asking for work or driving," Vargas said through a translator.

He has been a day laborer for a number of years both in Arizona and California. He said that work has been harder to find lately because of the economy and that he needs to solicit work on the street in order to help feed his family.

"It's very important to my family that I make money," he said.

He said he has no particular expertise but does work such as cleaning and helping with construction.

"The biggest challenge under the law will be finding work," Vargas said. "But then, there is also fear that I will be arrested."

Vargas was arrested in March 2009 on suspicion of trespassing while soliciting work on a corner near 25th Street and Bell Road in Phoenix. The charges were dropped, but the incident increased Vargas' fear of encounters with law enforcement "even though I have legal paperwork."

"I don't know yet what I'm going to do," he said.

Vargas said he will be in the audience of Thursday's court hearing.

"This law affects everyone," he said. "I'm an Arizonan, too. I live here. I pay taxes."